According to Robin Hackett at Setanta Sports, Aston Villa are being linked with West Bromwich defender Jonas Olsson. Everton, Blackburn, and Bolton are also thought to be interested. Olsson told Fotbolls Expressen,

“I have heard that there are a few clubs talking about me, but it is my agent, Martin Dahlin, who will deal with the issue … It is flattering – I have got the taste for The Premier League now.”

“I will leave in June … We will see what happens when I return [from holiday] with the transfer window open … I like the club and the city but, without showing any disrespect to me team, this is the reality.”

“You always want to re-motivate yourself by taking another step up.”

According to Sky Sports News, Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb’s agent denied any rumor linking him with Aston Villa. His agent Uli Ferber said,

“We don’t know anything about any request from Aston Villa … Even though he is not playing regularly he is not thinking about changing teams.”

UPDATE: According to Nadia Carminati at Sky Sports News, Kaka will only be heading to Real Madrid or stay put. Chelsea will not even be an option for the midfielder.

AC Milan general manager Adriano Galliani told Gazzetta dello Sport,

“Ricky didn’t want to go to Man City (in January), instead he wanted to go to Madrid.”

June 3rd, 2009 According to Chelsea’s official website, Chelsea have not made any bid for Kaka. A statement was made saying,

According to Robin Hackett at Setanta Sports, Manchester City midfielder Gelson Fernandes is unhappy with the club. His agent Marcel Schmid said,

“I can really assure you that he is quite unhappy about his situation … We believe that City have spent an awful lot of money on players who are very similar to him and that they will play them because they cost a lot of money – not because they are better.”

“We hope he will go. We will do everything we can to make sure he is not staying … He wants to be playing not for 10 or 12 minutes every time. He wants to play for 90 minutes because that’s the type of player he is … He is the motor of the team – not a 10-minute player.”

When asked if Fernandes received any offers from other clubs, Schmid said,

“What we have is a lot of talk with several clubs in several countries … I don’t really want to go into the names of the clubs. There are half a dozen at least in various countries talking to us now, but it is not at a stage where we can say there is an offer.”

“Clubs are trying to find out behind the scenes whether Gelson will be available or not … First of all, they have to find out if they can afford him. Secondly, we have to see from a sporting point of view whether he is prepared to go there.”

According to Michael Baggaley at the Stoke Sentinel, Stoke City captain Andy Griffin expects to leave the club after a “fall-out” with manager Tony Pulis. Griffin said,

“I haven’t started since the game at West Ham, so I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to understand where I stand in the manager’s thoughts.”

“All I can say is I had a fall-out with the manager and, as a result of that, was not in the team. Sometimes I wasn’t travelling and was cutting the grass at 3pm on a Saturday.”

“I have just turned 30, feel as though I was playing well and still believe in my own ability. It is disappointing, but that is what happens when you fall out with the boss.”

“But if and when I go, I will thank the manager for bringing me back home. I suppose it is just a case of waiting to see what happens in the summer. If nothing happens then I will be back in pre-season and will give my all.”

According to James Nursey at the Daily Mirror, Birmingham are interested in Barcelona Sporting Club defender Giovanny Espinoza.

Boss Alex McLeish is planning on scouting Espinoza when he plays for Ecuador against Argentina.

According to Eric Paylor at the Evening Gazette, West Ham United are the favorites to land Middlesbrough defender Matthew Bates. Bates’ contract with Boro ends at the end of the month.

Bates looked set to join Wigan Athletic but the change in managers has put the deal in doubt.

According to Sky Sports News, Middlesbrough footballer Tuncay Sanli admitted that he would not mind playing for a big club. Liverpool has been linked with Sanli which led to this statement. Sanli said,

“Yes, I’ve heard something about that but nothing official has arrived to me … Of course I would like to play for a big club.”

According to Ian Ladyman at the Daily Mail, Manchester City are close to signing Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o for £20million.

UPDATE: According to Toby Davis at Setanta Sports, Napoli president Pierpaolo Marino admitted that they will hold onto Ezequiel Lavezzi. He told Corriere dello Sport,

“I shall keep Lavezzi at Napoli … I have nothing else to say … I met him the other day in Bratislava, and he said he was happy to stay in Naples, and that he would respect his contract.”

June 1st, 2009 According to Sky Sports News, Ezequiel Lavezzi would like to stay at Napoli despite interest from Liverpool. He said,

UPDATE: According to ESPN Soccernet, Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor has not had any contact with AC Milan. His agent Stephane Courbis told Calciomercato.it,

“I met [Arsenal boss Arsene] Wenger yesterday but we did not talk about selling him because at the moment there are no significant offers … The Milan directors have not contacted me.”

”Yes, there are many other offers, but I repeat that at the moment there are no interesting offers for Emmanuel.”

”What would I do if Milan called? I don’t like talking about hypotheses, it’s not right at this moment. Ade is an Arsenal player.”

May 30th, 2009 According to John Cross at the Daily Mirror, Arsenal are prepared to sell Emmanuel Adebayor, Emmanuel Eboue, and possibly William Gallas.

According to Sky Sports News, West Ham United are interested in Rennes defender Rod Fanni. Fanni’s agent Dominique Six said,

“It’s true that we have spoken to West Ham scout Roger Cross who has asked about information on Rod … We have had no offers for Rod and West Ham would need to speak to Rennes if they want to do that.”

UPDATE: According to David Anderson at the Daily Mirror, last night Manchester United met with Kia Joorabchian to try and make one last attempt for Carlos Tevez. A source close to “the talks” said,

“The meeting was very cordial. Manchester United put their case and Kia has gone away to discuss their proposal with Carlos.”

“No decision is expected for a few days because Carlos is involved in internationals with Argentina.”

June 3rd, 2009 According to Sky Sports News, Manchester City boss Mark Hughes admitted that he is interested in Carlos Tevez. He said,

UPDATE: According to Robin Hackett at Setanta Sports, West Ham United starlet Freddie Sears is set to join Sheffield Wednesday on loan.

May 26th, 2009 According to West Ham United’s official website, boss Gianfranco Zola plans on loaning out 19-year-old Freddie Sears. Zola said,

UPDATE: According to Rob Parrish at Sky Sports News, Swansea manager Roberto Martinez is set to become the new manager of Wigan Athletic. Wigan chairmna Dave Whelan said,

“I think it will be a done deal, definitely, by this time tomorrow. It’s just a case of Roberto meeting our chief executive and getting the deal signed off.”

“We’ve now been given permission by Swansea to speak to Roberto, our chief executive Brenda Spencer is talking to him this afternoon and hopefully the deal will all be concluded by tomorrow morning.”

June 1st, 2009 According to Alan Nixon at the Daily Mirror, Wigan Athletic are interested in Swansea manager Roberto Martinez as a replacement for Steve Bruce if he leaves. Swansea are supposedly looking for a £750,000 compensation fee.